65 Greatest Quotes by Golf Great Arnold Palmer

Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.

Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.

There's no question that the galleries still like to see birdies and eagles. If you take them all away, it takes some of the dramatics, the excitement of a golf tournament and people don't want to do that.

The secret of concentration is the secret of self discovery. You reach inside yourself to discover your personal resources, and what it takes to match them to the challenge.

I have a tip that can take five strokes off anyone's golf game. It's called an eraser.

The game has such a hold on golfers because they compete not only against an opponent, but also against the course, against par, and most surely against themselves.

Success golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.

I like my airplane. It's as much a part of me as anything but my wife and kids.

You don't go to Palm Springs in the summer unless you're building a golf course.

When you play by the rules, defy mental demons, overcome every challenge, and enjoy a walk in the country at the same time -- that's being alive.

For years I did take my time, but that was because I hated waiting to hit shots -- I adopted a pace where I didn't have to stand by my ball and wait.

Some players are wonderful hitters of the ball, but they can't figure out ways to get out of trouble. Eighty percent of the time, there is a way. You just have to know how to look for it.

I have a psychological feeling about things -- and if I have something that I need to accomplish and I accomplish it, I let down after that, and that happened to me in golf.

Putting is a fascinating, aggravating, wonderful, terrible and almost incomprehensible part of the game of golf.

We have a great field and I'm very happy about that. It's a tough time of year as it gets closer to the Masters, but I'm appreciative of the players who are here, and I'm expecting a great week.

What separates great players from the good ones is not so much ability as brain power and emotional equilibrium.

Winning is a drive, it's a thing that you feel like when I go to bed at night I go to sleep.

I feel more strongly than ever about this. I would like the professional game freed of golf carts. Golf is a physical game. If we are playing competitive professional golf, we should walk. When I can't walk 18 holes, I'll pack it in.

I've drawn a lot of inspiration from people who have supported me, golfers who have helped me. If it wasn't for the game of golf I'd probably be mowing the greens back in Latrobe.

I was playing golf in Palm Springs and after a round I asked the waitress in a restaurant to bring me a glass of iced tea and lemonade. A lady sitting nearby heard me and asked the waitress to bring her a Palmer, too. The name caught on and the beverage quickly spread around the country.

I'm not much for sitting around and thinking about the past or talking about the past. What does that accomplish?

When I was in college, I thought about becoming an attorney. But I wasn't smart enough; I hate being cooped up indoors; and I'm too nice a guy.

I was born in 1929, that was the depression, so the golf course was manned by my father and two guys, they worked for my dad and they took me with them everywhere they went. And it was fun.

First time I met Jack Nicholas I had heard about his golf and prowess -- I was playing in the Ohio amateur.

I don't think that golf has a place for two sets of rules. I think one of the reasons that the game has progressed in the way that it has over the years is the fact that the amateurs and the pros all play the same game, and they play under the same set of rules.

Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears.

There's some good news, too, and the good news is that the players finally have become more aware of the fact that we in golf need sponsors, and we need the good will that is created by the players being, let's say, cooperative with the sponsors -- meaning friendly.

Timing is everything in life and in golf.

Swing your swing. Not some idea of a swing. Not a swing you saw on TV. Not that swing you wish you had. No, swing your swing. Capable of greatness. Prized only by you. Perfect in it's imperfection. Swing your swing. I know, I did.

I have had a love affair with Wake Forest since my undergraduate days, but I didn't realize until many years later what I had truly learned at Wake Forest, both in and out of the classroom, about the meaning of a productive and meaningful life.

We just became very good friends with Dwight Eisenhower, we played golf, we played heart exhibitions. Then his doctor said he should not play golf anymore.

I used to get tired of drinking iced tea, so I'd ask my wife if we had some lemonade, and I would just dump it right in there.

I always knew what was most important to me. When I was growing up, nothing was more important than golf, but that's the attitude of a young person who hasn't a care in the world. Later on I figured it out. Family was first. Always. Then golf and business come after.

I know, win or lose, I enjoyed the prospect of giving it my all.

Phil Mickelson has done a great job. He's a great player and he's conducted himself very well through the years. He's been a good ambassador for the game. He hasn't won in a while, but he still has time, and it wouldn't surprise me if he won again.

The only really unplayable lie I can think of is when you're supposed to be playing golf and come home with lipstick on your collar.

We can argue about major championships and whether Tiger will ever surpass Jack's 18 majors, but what can't be argued is this: Tiger Woods is the most dominant, most skilled player we've ever seen.

I never heard Jack Nicklaus say, 'I'm a great player,' or Tiger Woods, as a matter of fact. They just get out and do it. And I think that's far more appealing... than talking about how good you are.

I like the Miami because I could play golf all winter.

I think a firm grip helps you control the club and prevents it from turning in your hands. Another thing about feel is, if you make a change in your grip, it takes time for your brain to adapt.

My search for ways to improve my touch has never ended. We players tried a lot of different things and compared notes. Little fads would set in.

Great touch is often written off simply as 'talent,' which is crucial, because a good swing can take a golfer only so far. I've seen thousands of fantastic swings in my day, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

Feel is the most perplexing part of golf, and probably the most important.

I was mixing iced tea and lemonade in my kitchen since as long as I can remember. It wasn't until some time in the early 1960s that it became associated with me publicly.

I fly my own airplane, and I have since 1960. I rarely fly anywhere other than my own airplane.

I can remember back to my early tour days when some fellows didn't think I'd last too long. Nothing physical -- they said it was my swing. Some said it was too much of a 'muscle swing' to stand the test of time. One fellow predicted I wouldn't get past 30 out there.

My problem happens to be near-sightedness -- inability to see distance. And this is pretty tough on a golfer.

I find myself getting associated with a lot of younger people in the game. I still enjoy playing with them, and I think they still enjoy playing with me. As long as I can stay competitive and have fun doing what I'm doing, I guess I'll keep doing it.

My grandson Sam Saunders has been playing golf since he could hold a club and I spent a lot of time with him over the years. Like my father taught me, I showed him the fundamentals of the game and helped him make adjustments as he and his game matured over the years.

Putting is like wisdom -- partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience.

I never rooted against an opponent, but I never rooted for him either.

I don't see myself as a full-time broadcaster. I've done some of it, and I enjoy it, but I don't think I should try to make a career out of it.

I try to deign golf courses that are individual in character and individual in their own standing.

The winners at the Olympics step up, bursting with pride, because everything that they have worked for and all their dedication is rewarded in a climax that I, and most golfers, will never experience.

I can't be casual about losing. I always think I have a chance to win until winning is absolutely impossible.

Why hit a conservative shot? When you miss it, you are in just as much trouble as when you miss a bold one.

There is no king of golf. Never has been, never will be. Golf is the most democratic game on Earth... It punishes and exalts us all with splendid equal opportunity.

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.

Winning isn't everything, but wanting it is.

The more I practice the luckier I get.

I probably have a club in my hands 360 days a year, one way or another, playing with friends or just fiddling around or hitting balls.